Harry Potter The Final Straw

Tonks understood what her boss was getting at in regard to Barty Jr. The man was a psychotic killer and if everyone thought him dead, perhaps it was best if that became a reality. Not liking the decision at all, Dora growled out, "We will take care of the problem but please make sure that those files are secure."

Madam Bones nodded in relief; she was able to keep her department safe from the public backlash if Crouch Jr. were discovered alive. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will be in contact after I have arranged a few things. If you discover anything of importance, I would appreciate it if you notified me, we will do the same if we come across something important."

Recognizing her dismissal, Dora got up from her seat and said, "Thank you for your time and willingness to help, Director. I'll let our people know what is going on and if we find anything that would help you out, I'll let you know."

"Before you go," Amelia called out to Dora, "please file a missing person report on Barty Crouch, Sr. and Mad-Eye Moody." Receiving a nod from the young Auror, she continued resignedly, "We may as well get the ball rolling on that investigation even though we know how it turned out. That way everything that we can do has been done."

Canceling the wards and privacy spells, Dora waved goodbye, and left the office to file the arrest warrant for Tom Riddle before heading back to Grimmauld Place to update everyone on how her meeting went.

While Dora was filing the paperwork to get their plans rolling, Arthur Weasley received a missive from Albus Dumbledore.

Curious, Arthur slit open the envelope and began reading the familiar, loopy, script. The parchment almost slipped from his grasp when he read about the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he finished reading the letter. Dumbledore was reforming the Order of the Phoenix and he wanted him to begin recruiting new members.

The first thing that went through Arthur's mind was, 'How do I keep my family safe?' and the second was, 'Who can I trust enough to recruit?' He wasn't as dense as people thought he was. Arthur just didn't let the majority of things bother him; it was a guise that had served him well over the years. Many people had underestimated him to their eternal chagrin and he was quick to take advantage if the situation warranted it.

Mulling things over while he sipped his tea, Arthur realized that Dumbledore wanted him to recruit from within the ministry as quietly as possible. Realizing that he needed to see to his family first, he called out jovially, "Perkins! I'm going to step out and have lunch with Molly today. She seemed a bit down this morning when I left for work." Seeing the concerned look on his longtime colleague, he quickly said, "I think she is just missing the children. She always goes through this a day or two before they come home from Hogwarts."

Grabbing his cloak, Arthur left his office and headed up to the Apparition Point in the atrium. He turned on the spot and disappeared with a small pop of displaced air.

Molly was just about to sit down to lunch when she heard the front door open. Curious, she called out, "Hello?" As her husband stepped into the kitchen, the look on his face immediately concerned her. Worriedly, she asked, "Arthur? What's wrong?"

Gently, he led his wife of over twenty years into a chair. Once she was seated, he took the chair next to her and clasped her hands in his. Looking into her eyes, his own fears rose to the surface as he quietly spoke, "I have some bad news. V-V-, oh damn it all to hell!" he ejaculated in frustration before continuing, "Voldemort returned the other night. Harry was used in some dark ritual to bring him back to life."

Unable to believe what her husband had just told her, Molly Weasley did the only thing she could, she fainted.

Sirius had finished his little chat with Junior in the basement and he was feeling a bit hungry. He was just about to open up the pantry when Dobby returned with his trunk.

Taking one look at Sirius, Dobby happily said, "Please have a seat and I will make you some lunch."

Shaking his head in bemusement at the tiny elf, Sirius sat back down at the table. A few seconds later, the clanging of pots and pans told him that Dobby had begun cooking.

Remus stepped into the kitchen and his mouth practically started watering. Since moving into the old house, he had been eating regularly and getting more rest and it showed. Plopping down in the seat next to Sirius, Remus asked, "Did everything go okay?"

Sirius nodded yes while answering, "I think so. I'm still waiting for Ted and Andromeda to get back from the Ministry with the guardianship papers for Harry and Hermione."

Understanding his friend's concern, Remus said reassuringly, "I'm sure everything went fine. No one would question the guardianship of a muggle born being transferred to Andromeda and Ted and Harry is family. That means that his guardianship status is just a formality. They can howl all they want but for once we are using that pure blood garbage against them and I love it."

Grinning like an idiot, Sirius' happy voice rang out, "That's right! I love it when Lucius Malfoy gets a law passed that we can use to pull one over on him."

They were still discussing pulling the wool over Lucius' eyes when Dora and her parents arrived looking pleased but ruffled.

When they were all seated, Dobby began putting the food on the table. Once everything was on the table, Dobby asked helpfully, "Is there anything else that you need?" Receiving nothing but no's, Dobby continued, "I will be having lunch with Winky and the Grangers, if you need anything just call." When he was finished speaking, he put a Warming Charm on the extra food and disappeared with a tiny pop.

Ted and Andromeda were looking at Dobby in wonder. They were still not used to the changes in his speech and demeanor yet but they did like the difference when compared to a regular house-elf.

Remus saw the look on their faces and smiled before saying, "It does take a bit to get used to, doesn't it? John and Annabelle have done wonders for the two elves. They even eat their meals at the same table now and have their own rooms in the basement."

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